If you're an avid reader of my work, you'll know from the last creative writing piece (is it fact or fiction?!?!?! we'll never know!!!!!) that I went to northern Italy to Milan. Did I happen to mention that not one of us who went to Milan got pick-pocketed? Well now you know! Very proud, of me and my friends, I am! (cockney accent). ANYWAYS: We were given Friday off for Thanksgiving, and there was a lot of discussion as to what were we should go. First, after getting extremely close to Switzerland (when we visited Lake Como for a day), we were sure that Zurich was our destination. Woah! That was expensive! Readers: If you want to get to Zurich, become one of Berlusconi's mistresses first. No just kidding, please don't do that. I really don't endorse that statement. Plus, I don't think it's worth it.
So Zurich didn't happen, sadly. And I'm not extremely sure where this came from, I can't remember if I just shouted it out, or after some research we decided, or if someone was like well, can't go to Zurich, next best thing is....well, we decided on Turin. Now, there were a few "haters", if you will, people who just didn't think there was much to the place. And for a while, it seemed like everything would fall apart, because we had no idea what was in Turin.
You see, though, there is a moment. You realize how much time is left, and you have this one opportunity. In all other circumstances, I probably would've stayed on the couch in Winchester, MA and not have gone bowling. But this is no bowling my friend. So, a round trip train ticket later, and a hostel booked, we were on our way. Of course, though, the school set up a nice little Thanksgiving dinner for us first:
So we took off Thursday night (had the dinner Wednesday), and arrived in Turin around 7pm, and finally found the hostel. What can I say? Turin was probably my favorite city. There are multiple factors in this: It isn't tourist season in most of Italy. It was Christmas time, there were a million lights up everywhere. In fact 20 different artists every year design lights to be put up. It wasn't raining, as it was everywhere else in Italy. And I really love Milan, it was my favorite for quite a bit. But it rained the entire time we were there. Turin, it was cold, but very dry. And Sunday? Oh yeah! It snowed!
There were in fact, a million things to do. First, the cinema museum, then the panoramic view on top of said cinematic masterpiece museum and fantasticness. Did I mention also, we arrived just in time, without planning a thing, for the Turino Film Festivcal? So Heck Yeah, we got to see a movie at a film festival. Before we got to the film festival, though, we visited a small town in the alps called Bardonecchia.
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| Panoramic view! |
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| THIS EXISTS: B-Town |
So, what can I say? I had a wonderful time. Now though, classes are winding down. We've stopped learning things in Italian, and have resorted to try and tell long stories, and the main objective is to repeat the entire story before you add your new part. It's interesting. At college, that's a drinking game. Here, it's to help you learn a language. Sometimes we describe a picture, while someone else has to draw it. Other times it's charades. Sometimes it's 20 questions. Now though, comes all the review. The final papers, big projects, and the complete realization that it's all stopping.
I don't know what it is, I don't know if I feel settled here. I don't know if it's really that I think I belong, because more than ever I feel like I belong somewhere else. But in some weird way, this room feels like my room. Of all the things I'm leaving, I feel the weirdest about leaving my bright red desk.
Until next time.
